Celtic captain Callum McGregor hailed the character and resilience shown by his teammates in Sunday's Old Firm clash – but admitted there was a lingering sense of frustration after leaving Ibrox with just a point.
The Hoops recovered well from a sluggish first-half showing, which ended with Cyriel Dessers firing Rangers in front on the stroke of half-time.
Brendan Rodgers’ side responded with purpose after the break, and Adam Idah deservedly levelled things up before the hour mark following a VAR check.
Celtic pushed for a late winner and might well have claimed it had the so-often prolific Daizen Maeda converted a golden chance in stoppage time.
However, McGregor still took heart from the performance and attitude on show in the world famous Scottish Premiership spectacle.
“I thought we imposed ourselves on the game really well,” the experienced Celtic midfielder said.
“I thought we worked out Rangers’ diamond pretty quickly, using the two boys at full-back to narrow the game and switch it. That gave us good comfort in the game, it got us through the pitch pretty quickly. So yeah, I think today was a lot more like us than what we have been.
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“We were actually pretty comfortable in the game; we created some really good situations and probably on another day could actually win the game as well. It is a tough place to come, and the game is on a balance, it is on a knife edge, and it could go either way, so it is important that once you get yourself back in the game, you do not lose it.
“We probably feel a wee bit hard done by that we haven't gone and won it, which again shows our mentality and shows where we want to be."
With the last derby clash of the campaign now behind them, Celtic can turn their full attention to the Scottish Cup final showdown with Aberdeen at Hampden Park later this month.
Celtic manager Rodgers revealed post-match that he’ll be carefully managing the minutes of some key players in the lead-up to the final, with Nicolas Kuhn and Alistair Johnston both absent on Sunday.
However, McGregor was clear that the high standards which have carried the team this far won’t be dropping any time soon.
“Yeah, absolutely,” replied the Celtic skipper when asked about maintaining momentum, as attention turns towards a home league encounter against Hibernian next Saturday.
“Football keeps you so honest. If you come off it, it is very, very difficult to switch the light back on. We know what we've got, with the games remaining. We have two nice games at home where we want to maximise what we can do, and then obviously, a midweek trip away, and we want to win there as well. That takes us into the Scottish Cup final.
“Also, if we can finish with maximum wins, then it has been a really good season, that will take us nicely into the cup final, where, like I said, we cannot come off it.
“The standards have got to stay the same, and we have got to be super focused when that last week comes, that we are ready to deliver again."
